FEBRUARY 2006 www.uvic.ca/ring

Publications mail agreem

ent No. 40014024

by Beth Haysom

Th e fi rst time Island Medical Pro-gram (IMP) student Bjorn Vegsund went “on duty” at Cowichan District Hospital emergency room, he couldn’t bear to leave.

“We were only supposed to stay for two hours, but it was so interesting that I stayed for six,” says Vegsund. He’s one of the fi rst cohort of 24 med-ical students based at the University of Victoria who are trail-blazing medical education on Vancouver Island.

“This was the first time I was the fi rst person a patient talked to once they were admitted to the ER,” says Vegsund. “It was exciting and

defi nitely nerve-wracking, trying to remember what questions to ask, what physical symptoms to look for, what tests might be needed, and the diagnosis for each patient. Th is kind of experience is far better than all the hours we spend sitting and studying.”

In fact, Vegsund and his fellow students, now in their second year of the four-year program, have spent more than a year studying and prac-tising clinical skills with volunteer patients. Now it’s time for their one day a week practical training with real patients on the wards and units of Vancouver Island Health Authority hospitals: Cowichan District, Saanich

Peninsula, Victoria General and the Royal Jubilee.

Th is front-line hospital experience, which began last month, chalks up another fi rst for the IMP, which is establishing undergraduate medical education on Vancouver Island as a distributed program of the University of British Columbia faculty of medi-cine. IMP students will graduate with a UBC medical degree.

The IMP officially opened its doors at UVic in January 2005, along with the Northern Medical Program at the University of Northern BC, to respond to the need for doctors in ru-

by Natasha Chetty

You’ve probably noticed the increase in construction crews and vehicles on campus since the new year. Curious about what’s happening? Here’s an update on the why’s and how’s of building the future of the university.

UVic is moving forward on a $130-million capital expansion to add research, learning and offi ce space. Th e B.C. government has commit-ted to funding an additional 1,900 full-time students at UVic by 2010.

Th e new buildings will help the uni-versity meet the infrastructure needs of its growing student enrolment and research programs, and help ease the critical shortage of teaching and research space on campus.

A new science building will ac-commodate the school of earth & ocean sciences (SEOS), the chem-istry department, an animal health care unit, the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCMA), lecture theatres, offices, labs, meeting rooms and food services,

along with relocation of the physics and astronomy observatory dome and roof-top telescopes. Construction begins this March; the target comple-tion date is March 2008.

A new social science and math-ematics building will house geogra-phy, environmental studies, political science and mathematics, the e-learn-ing systems group, graphics and pho-tographic services, as well as various labs, lecture theatres, classrooms and administrative offi ces. Construction begins this spring with a target com-pletion date of February 2008.

Th e Mearns Centre for Learning library expansion will transform the existing McPherson Library into a more comprehensive learning centre and information commons. The expected construction start is August 2006, with a target completion date of January 2008.

UVic engineers help build world’s largest telescope

by Beth Haysom

A minuscule, fl exible mirror not much bigger than an eye pupil being tested by University of Victoria engi-neers will one day help astronomers peer at distant galaxies and watch stars being born.

UVic is part of a fl agship North American endeavour to build a 30-metre telescope (TMT), the largest ever built. A team of UVic engineers is designing experimental equip-ment that will eventually be used in the new telescope. Phase one of the UVic development project will be completed this month.

Th e gigantic scope—with a light-collecting area nine times the size of the largest existing telescope and 100 times more powerful than the Hubble telescope—will operate like a giant eyeball, allowing astronomers to probe 10 billion light years deep into space.

Th e $750-million project is be-ing undertaken by a private-public consortium, including universities in Canada and the United States, and is expected to be operational in 10 to 15 years.

Observations from the telescope will help answer questions about how stars, planets and galaxies form, and about dark matter and energy and the frequency and types of extra-solar planets.

UVic has built a “test bench” of experimental instrumentation needed to develop telescope parts such as a tiny “adaptive optics” mir-ror that will compensate for optical aberrations of the incoming light caused by Earth’s atmosphere.

The project is assisted by $4 million from the Canada Founda-tion for Innovation (for the entire

Canadian portion of the telescope project) and $2 million from the BC Knowledge Development Fund.

“Th e fi rst stage of the experimen-tation project has gone really well,” says Colin Bradley, a mechanical engineer who heads the team of engi-neers, physicists, graduate and under-graduate students involved in UVic’s project. “We’re helping to create a powerful and sophisticated tool that will lead to a tremendous amount of valuable scientifi c research.”

In phase two of the project, UVic will be involved in the development of cutting-edge, adaptive optics technology needed to operate the scope and the 738 hexagonal mir-ror segments that span its 30-metre bowl. These work together like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle to col-lect the light beaming to Earth from the far recesses of the universe.

UVic is working closely with scientists at the National Research Council’s Herzberg Institute of As-trophysics observatory in Saanich. Various sites in the higher elevations of Hawaii, Mexico and Chile are under review as potential locations to build the telescope.

Use of the new telescope will be a huge benefi t to UVic astronomers and theorists who are already en-gaged in high-level cosmology and galactic research.

“Since light travels at a finite speed, then when we look into distant space we’re also looking back in time,” says Dr. Kim Venn, a UVic astronomer and the Canada Research Chair in Observational Astrophysics.

“Th e TMT will make it possible to identify and study extremely faint

Th e process to review and renew the university’s strategic plan, A Vision for the Future, is in full swing.

Since December, members of the planning and priorities com-mittee, the body that is leading the review process, have met with about a dozen groups across campus. Fifteen more campus consultations are being organized for February—with students, faculty councils, the university’s educational and em-ployment equity working groups, and other major constituencies.

Staff members are invited to consultations on the morning of Feb. 21 and the afternoon of Feb. 23 to provide input into the process. Off -campus consultations are being planned for late spring.

In addition to obtaining input through consultations in person, the planning and priorities com-mittee is receiving comments and submissions from individuals and groups via e-mail and on paper.

“We’re most grateful for the energy and thought people are investing in the process,” says UVic President David Turpin, who chairs the committee. “What we’re hear-ing from members of the university community will be invaluable in reviewing the strategic plan.”

Background documents, the full consultation schedule and contact information for the com-mittee are all available on the strategic plan review website at: uvic.ca/strategicreview.

Strategic plan consultations continue

What’s up, doc?The Island Medical Program’s fi rst class of trainee doctors joins the hospital front lines

Construction boom on campus—what’s happening?

SEE IMP STUDENTS P.5

SEE CONSTRUCTION P.4

IMP student Kevin Tyler, right, checks out patient Walter Sly, under the watchful eye of Dr. Fraser Black.

Artist’s rendering of new science building.

SEE 30-METRE TELESCOPE P.3

DIA

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A community-based approach

to your fi tness

5

Page 2 The Ring February 2006

“Old man” on the moveVolunteers take the thunderbird/whale protection and welcoming pole, aff ectionately known by its carvers as “the old man,” to its fi nal destination—the foyer of the David Lam auditorium in the MacLaurin Building. The pole was moved from the Wilfred Johns Gallery, where it was carved last fall, to its fi nal installation location, where it was celebrated in a Jan. 20 ceremony. Prior to the move, both the pole and those who volunteered to move it were blessed during a traditional ceremony. The pole was the centerpiece of a course off ered by the faculty of education to engage students in learning about indigenous teaching and learning. Faculty members and students took turns carving the pole and documenting the process on a website, a video, and through educational materials and ceremonies.

CorrectionLast month’s Ring incorrectly identifi ed the carvers who worked on the thunderbird/whale protection/welcoming pole mentioned above. Fabien Quocksister, a Liekwelthout/Songhees master carver, was the lead carver on the project. Songhees carver Butch Dick acted as mentor carver.

Director Bruce Kilpatrick

Managing Editor Valerie Shore

Production Beth Doman

Contributors Natasha Chetty, Beth Haysom, Maria Lironi, Mike McNeney, Patty Pitts, Valerie Shore, Chris Thackray

Advertising Bonnie Light388-5321 or ringads@uvic.ca

Calendar Mandy Crocker, ucom@uvic.ca

Printer Goldstream Press

Vol. 32 No. 2The Ring is published by UVic Com mu ni ca tions on the fi rst Thursday of every month, except August.

The Ring, PO Box 1700,University of Vic to ria, Victoria, B.C. V8W 2Y2Tel: (250) 721-7636 • Fax: 721-8955e-mail: ucom@uvic.ca • website: www.uvic.ca/ring

The Ring reserves the right to select and edit all sub mis sions. Story suggestions should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the copy deadline listed in Calendar Highlights on page 7.

© Copyright 2006 University of Victoria

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UVic is aiming to enhance its inter-national activities and connections across the university community and on the world stage.

Everyone is invited to join in the dialogue for change, which may in-volve revising curricula, establishing an international space or focal point on campus, and funding more over-seas study and research by students, staff and faculty.

“Making a World of Diff erence,” a draft strategic plan outlining 14 objectives for furthering internation-alization at the university over the next fi ve years, was released by the offi ce of international aff airs (OIA) for consultation with the UVic com-munity this month.

“For many years, UVic has had strong areas of international excellence, but the challenge now is to ensure that this strength and expertise permeates the experience of all our students, staff and faculty,” says Jim Anglin, associate vice-president academic and student aff airs, who also serves as director of international aff airs.

“Our new plan seeks to defi ne

some strategic directions based on UVic’s values and commitments, and to create the framework of programs and services necessary to address is-sues of global consequence.”

The internationalization plan is based on UVic’s Vision for the Future commitment to “a diverse and welcoming learning environ-ment that informs and is informed by global realities and issues.” The new international framework and objectives have evolved after a thorough, two-year consultation process with faculty, staff and students and contributions from the OIA working group on inter-nationalization.

Th ese global goals complement UVic’s overall strategy that is currently being consulted on and updated.

Among other objectives, UVic intends to: appoint a new full-time director of international aff airs; to double the numbers of students from UVic having study or work experiences abroad by 2010; provide project management and resource support for overseas research; and

encourage a broader representation of visa students attending UVic.

“Today’s reality is that universi-ties have to achieve excellence on a global scale to attract resources, research funding and the most talented students and faculty,” says Anglin. “Th is plan will help UVic develop the tools for adopting a world-minded perspective and a commitment to human betterment throughout the university’s teach-ing, research and community-based activities.”

Th e 25-page document has been distributed widely throughout the UVic community for comment. A copy is also available online at www.oia.uvic.ca.

Comments and suggestions on the plan are welcome and should be sent by e-mail to world@oia.uvic.ca or in writing to the offi ce of inter-national aff airs, Continuing Studies Building, room 300.

The deadline for responses is Feb. 28 so that a fi nal draft of the plan can be submitted to the senate for consideration by May.

UVic invites comment on internationalization plan

by Maria Lironi

Two UVic faculty members—re-cently retired mathmatician David Leeming and business professor Rebecca Grant—were honoured with Victoria’s Leadership Awards last month.

A partnership between UVic, Leadership Victoria and the Rotary Club of Victoria–Harbourside, the awards recognize people who contrib-ute to the community and inspire and mentor others to become involved and participate in the life of the city and surrounding community.

Leeming and Grant were winners

in the University of Victoria Com-munity Leadership Awards category, which acknowledges exemplary lead-ership in linking UVic and the com-munity for greater public benefi t.

Leeming has had a long and distinguished career in research and teaching which culminated in his receipt of a faculty of science Excel-lence in Teaching Award. However, his involvement in mathematics education goes far beyond the lec-ture hall.

Leeming has served on Ministry of Education committees that have set the post-secondary mathematics curriculum in B.C. He has brought mathematics to life with the “Math Mania” program, which exposes the fun side of math to K-6 school-children. In addition, Leeming is managing editor of Pi in the Sky, a magazine designed to capture and develop the interest of high school students in math.

Grant joined UVic as an associate professor of information technology in 1993, and has been repeatedly recognized for her strong research and teaching in the popular new fi eld of “e-business.”

Grant has always been active in the local community, in such roles as a mentor to young entrepreneurs in Junior Achievement and as a leader

in fundraising for the United Way. Grant was elected to the board of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Com-merce in 2000, and in succeeding years has willingly taken on more responsibilities.

Other 2006 winners are: Robin Irving (Vancity Youth Leadership Award); Hajimohammed Charania and Dr. Michael Kovacs (Rotary Community Leadership Awards); Robin Irving (Vancity Youth Award) and Fiona Hyslop ( Lifetime Achieve-ment Award).

For more information visit www.leadershipvictoria.ca/VLA_Nominees_2006.pdf.

VISION

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Community kudos go to two UVic faculty members

Leeming Grant

A woman who defi ed the brutally oppressive Taliban to provide health care for women and educational op-portunities for girls will present the inaugural University of Victoria guest lecture on “lived rights.”

Dr. Sima Simar, former Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan and current chair of the Independent Afghan Human Rights Commission, will deliver her public lecture on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Fraser Build-ing, room 159. A reception will follow her presentation.

Th rough the Shuhada Organiza-tion, a non-governmental, non-profi t organization she established in 1989, Simar opened four hospitals, 10 health clinics and numerous schools for Afghan girls and women.

She was recently appointed as the UN Special Rapporteur on Sudan and was a recipient, in 2004, of a Profi les

in Courage Award for being “an international symbol of the steadfast courage required to demand basic human rights for girls and women in Afghanistan.”

Th is annual public lecture by an internationally recognized human rights advocate was established to acknowledge and learn more about the courageous and transformative work being done—particularly by women—to turn words on the pages of constitutions and treaties into positive changes in the daily lives of disadvantaged people in confl ict and post-confl ict zones.

Simar’s presentation is sponsored by UVic’s centre for global studies, the International Women’s Rights Project, the faculty of law dean’s advisory com-mittee on ethnicity and culture, the Human Rights Law Association, Telus and Monk Offi ce Supplies.

Afghan human rights advocate launches new lecture series

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by Beth Haysom

Scottish history buff Paul Wood had more than Robbie Burns day to cel-ebrate this year.

Th e UVic history professor fell for bonny Scotland while conducting research for his doctorate in the Aber-deen archives. Now, years of academic devotion to Scottish culture have led to his appointment as UVic’s fi rst-ever fellow in Scottish studies.

UVic’s faculty of humanities is supporting a new Scottish Studies fellowship, thanks to an endowment from Marion Alice Small, a former UVic arts professor. She shared a pas-sion for all things Scottish with her husband, Hugh Campbell, and set up the Hugh Campbell and Marion Alice Small Fund in Scottish Studies.

“I’m excited to be doing this,” says Wood. “Scottish culture is an integral part of our heritage and continues to be signifi cant. Since the 18th cen-tury, Scotland has made a signifi cant contribution to the economic, cul-tural and intellectual advancement of society. What’s more, Scottish universities have always recognized their civic responsibilities, as we do here at UVic.”

While his appointment coincided with Robbie Burns Day celebrations, Wood is keen to show the world that Scotland has a rich legacy of cul-ture and intellectual thought, much broader than the poems and songs of the popular poet.

Since he began teaching history in the faculty in 1991, Wood has gained an international reputation for his publications on the Scottish philosopher and scientist. Th omas Reid, and has already taught courses touching on various aspects of 18th-century Scotland. He’s currently

writing a biography of Reid, which will be published by Edinburgh Uni-versity Press.

As the Scottish Studies fellow, Wood is responsible for develop-ing the Scottish studies program and acquiring library resources. In September, about 60 UVic students can sign up for a course on “The Scottish Enlightenment and Scottish Historical Th ought 1700-1860.” As requested in the bequest, Wood will

also off er a public lecture through the St. Andrews and Caledonian Society of Victoria.

“I’m pleased that Prof. Wood has ac-cepted this fellowship. He exemplifi es our commitment to multidisciplinary research and teaching,” says Andrew Rippin, dean of humanities. “Ulti-mately, we intend the study of Scottish literature, thought, culture, society and history to be a focal point of activity in the faculty of humanities.”

UVic professor is fi rst Scottish studies fellow

A search is underway for the univer-sity’s new vice-president fi nance and operations (VPFO), under procedures established by the university’s board of governors.

Current VPFO Jack Falk has an-nounced that he intends to step down from the position, eff ective Sept. 1. He assumed the position in 1999.

Th e search committee, which is structured under board policy, has begun its work.

Th e committee, which is being assisted by Dan Birch of Janet Wright

& Associates Inc., is responsible for developing a position profi le, estab-lishing selection criteria, advertising the position, seeking the names of suitable candidates, identifying and interviewing candidates, and recom-mending a candidate to the president. Th e board of governors makes the appointment decision.

To assist it in the development of a position profi le, the committee is seeking input from the university com-munity. A letter from UVic president and committee chair Dr. David Turpin

inviting responses to a number of ques-tions is posted at web.uvic.ca/univsec/. Th e website also lists the search com-mittee membership.

The vice-president finance and operations is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership to the university in financial planning and services, human resources, campus planning, computing services, campus security and facilities management. Th e position also plays a key role with the university’s foundations and in the man-agement of its off -campus properties.

Search for new vice-president begins

Wood

BETH H

AYSOM

Faculty, staff and students will soon have a simplifi ed way to access e-mail, news and tools via uSource—a convenient, central online “home,” or portal.

Th e portal is part of Project Nova, an ongoing, campus-wide initiative to replace the university’s techno-logically dated and stand-alone information technology systems with state-of-the-art infrastructure.

More than 200 staff , faculty and students across campus (and some off campus) will volunteer to test uSource for a few weeks in early February.

At the end of February, Phase I of uSource will be launched for the entire UVic community.

Among the features available in Phase I: access to existing e-mail ad-dresses (no addresses will change); campus-wide announcements and “personal” announcements to individualized work or study groups; news about campus life; events at UVic; human resources information and postings; library searches and account management; student registration and records information; a single point of ac-cess to online forms from various departments and faculties; and a

feature photo channel.The finance module will be

partially phased-in during March and will feature upgrades of current applications used by UVic’s fi nance department. Th e fi rst phase of this enhanced technology will allow staff to access online help, to view data by date range, and to use improved fi lter and query capabilities.

In future fi nance module roll-outs, uSource users will be able to fi ll out online forms, such as those used for purchasing requisitions, and then track approval online.

Project Nova will be imple-mented in a succession of releases during the next few years. Eventually, students will be able to track their individual grade averages and fi nan-cial information, staff will work more collaboratively to solve problems, and faculty will have improved tools to communicate with students via group communication.

Th e project will not drastically change the way we work. Rather, it will off er improved communication and an easier, more effi cient way for users to perform daily tasks and to implement long-term strategies that refl ect the overall vision for the university.

Project Nova gears up in time for spring

sources in the very distant universe, when galaxies began to form.

“Many of the stars in galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang when the universe began,” she continues. “By studying those stars

we can treat them like fossils and probe galaxy evolution from the earliest stages to recent times with unprecedented accuracy. Th is will help us to understand our place in the universe.”

Thirty-metre telescope continued from p.1

Page 4 The Ring February 2006

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by Valerie Shore

It’s hard not to laugh when Cindy Meays tells you how she spent an entire summer working with cow patties — collecting them, blending them, reshaping them and, fi nally, analysing them.

“Th e students working with me thought I was a little crazy at fi rst,” grins the University of Victoria gradu-ate student. “My friends call me ‘Dr. Poo.’”

Th e joke possibilities seem limit-less, but Meays’s research is really no laughing matter. For her PhD degree in biology, she has completed a landmark study on the bacterial contamination of drinking water in watersheds.

Many Canadians draw their drink-ing water from watersheds that are exposed to various land uses, such as agriculture, forestry, mining, urban development and recreation. Th ese activities sigifi cantly increase the risk of contaminated drinking water and disease.

As a result, hundreds of communi-ties endure boil-water advisories every year. In B.C. alone, an estimated 300-400 communities are on boil-water advisories at any given time.

“Microbial contamination of source water is a major environmental and health issue with drinking water in B.C., Canada and around the world,” says Dr. Asit Mazumder, a UVic aquatic ecologist and Meays’s thesis co-supervisor. “Unless we know the source of contamination, we can’t control it. Cindy’s work is a big step in that direction.”

Working near Vernon, B.C., Meays began her study with the cow patties in what is more formally known as a fecal pat experiment. Th e object of her interest was the bacterium Escherichia coli, which occurs naturally in the intestinal tract of most warm-blooded animals, including humans.

“Th e presence of E. coli in water indicates that fecal contamination has occurred, so we typically measure it to see what the concentrations are,” says Meays. Most strains of E. coli are harmless, even benefi cial, but some can be deadly. It was a waterborne strain of E. coli that killed seven peo-ple in Walkerton, Ontario, in 2000.

“It’s important if we’re looking at watershed management to have some idea how long E. coli can live,” says Meays. So she placed 200 kg of collected, blended and reassembled cow patties into a variety of control-led conditions and measured E. coli survival rates.

In general, shady, moist and cool are optimal for survival, although Meays was surprised at the bacterium’s resilience. “By the end of 45 days the patties were very dry and you wouldn’t expect any E. coli to be alive. But some were.”

In the second phase of her study, Meays fi eld-tested a new genetic tech-nique for tracking the source of E. coli in a watershed. Known as molecular fi ngerprinting, or “ribotyping,” it iden-tifi es the bacterium’s host organism—livestock, wildlife or human—from an analysis of DNA fragments.

Meays’s study—so far the largest of its kind in the world—analysed

more than 4,800 E. coli samples taken from four watersheds in the Vernon area over diff erent time scales, and matched them to collected scat samples. She also tracked whether concentrations and sources of E. coli changed over time.

She found that numbers vary, de-pending on such factors as location, season, elevation, weather and time of day. “Th is shows managers that monitoring water quality by taking occasional samples won’t necessarily represent what’s going on in a par-ticular stream,” says Meays.

Meanwhile, the ribotyping re-vealed a wide assortment of animals contributing to E. coli contamination —depending on the watershed, every-thing from birds, deer and rodents, to cattle, horses and domestic dogs. Th is is a powerful management tool, says Meays.

“It gives us a much better un-derstanding of what’s going on in a watershed so that stakeholders aren’t just pointing fi ngers at each other,” says Meays. “Instead, they can alter their activities to reduce the contami-nation risk.”

Funders and supporters of the project included Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the B.C. Beef Cattle In-dustry Development Fund, the North Okanagan Livestock Association, the Agricultural Environment Partnership Initiative, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Ca-nadian Institutes of Health Research, three B.C. ministries (Agriculture and Lands, Environment, and Forests and Range) and UVic.

Water detectiveA UVic graduate student tracks the source of bacterial contamination in watersheds

University of Victoria Distinguished Professor Larry Yore, one of the world’s leading authorities on science literacy, will draw from more than 40 years of experience with schools across North America when he delivers the fi rst UVic Distinguished Professors Lecture on Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Fraser 159.

In his presentation, entitled “Sci-ence Literacy: A Guide for Parents, Grandparents and Educators,” Yore will examine the role of language in learning and doing science. He’ll dis-cuss how family and community val-

ues play a signifi cant role in fostering science literacy, which is increasingly necessary for informed participation in public debate on scientifi c, techno-logical and environmental issues.

Yore has been a pioneer in estab-lishing the fi eld of scholarly enquiry into the role of language in learning science. His research has contributed to our understanding of the character-istics of science textbooks that support effective learning, the differences between girls’ and boys’ reading in science, and the assessment of reading and writing ability in science.

Th e title “University of Victoria Distinguished Professor” is the high-est academic honour that the univer-sity can bestow on a faculty member. Th e awards program was established in 2002 to recognize faculty who have achieved great distinction in both teaching and research, and who have made a substantial contribu-tion to the university and the wider community.

To date, the title has been be-stowed upon eight faculty members (see web.uvic.ca/vpac/news/profes-sorawards.htm).

Educator to deliver inaugural Distinguished Professors lecture

A support services building will provide additional space for academic units within the campus core by relocating several service and administrative functions to a central building outside the Ring Road. Th e building will also provide space for growth in support services. Th e ex-pected construction start is February 2007, with a target completion date of fall 2008.

Interested in learning more? Tra-cy Corbett, director of campus plan-

ning and sustainability, is available to make presentations to individual departments, units and faculties. See what’s planned and how it will contribute to the development of the university. You’ll also have the chance to ask questions regarding the impact of the construction on your daily work routine.

Posters, news articles, memos and other print materials will update the campus community as the con-struction projects progress.

Construction boom continued from p.1

Dr. James Orbinski, past interna-tional president of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Bor-ders, will give a free public lecture, “Global Health and Global Citizen-ship,” at UVic on Saturday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. in UVic’s Farquhar Auditorium.

Th is is the inaugural lecture in UVic’s new Aspreva Distinguished Speaker Series, sponsored by Victo-ria-based Aspreva Pharmaceuticals, an international company that de-velops new applications for existing medicines in the treatment of less common diseases.

A veteran of some of the world’s most disturbing and complex hu-manitarian emergencies, Orbinski was Médecins Sans Frontières’s head of mission in Goma, Zaire, during the 1996 refugee crisis and in Kigali, Rwanda, during the horrifi c geno-cide of 1994. In 1992-93 he was the organization’s medical co-ordinator in Baidoa, Somalia, during the civil war and famine.

Orbinski accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières in 1999.

In his lecture, Orbinski will focus on health in the developing world, global warming and its ef-fects on health, the role of interna-tional governance, civil society, and the role of citizenship.

Orbinski believes that access to health care and essential health technologies are critical global health issues today, especially for the poor.

His research interests centre on: global health and access to health care, medicines and other health technologies; medical humani-tarianism, global health research and development policy; and community-based care for people living with HIV in the developing world.

Tickets for the lecture are free to the public and available through reserved seating only. For ticket information, call 721-8480.

Renowned humanitarian speaks on global health

and citizenship

Orbinski

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Meays

See the answers to the eight most frequently asked questions about the impact of campus construction.

Visit ring.uvic.ca/06feb02/news/construction.html

The Ring February 2006 Page 5

by Jessica Gillies

As everyone knows, it’s not always easy to fi t healthy living into our hectic lives. But Dr. Joan Wharf Higgins, an associate professor in UVic’s department of physical edu-cation, is determined to make sure we stay fi t.

As the Canada Research Chair in Health and Society, her focus is on health promotion, defi ned by the World Health Organization as “the process of increasing control over and improving people’s health.” Wharf Higgins is concerned with the control part of the equation.

“Control over health has a dif-ferent meaning for everyone,” she says. “You’re not going to be healthy unless you feel that you have control over your life and your decisions. Some things are completely out of your hands, but making that distinc-tion is empowering as well.”

Much of Wharf Higgins’ research has concentrated on factors people can’t control, and she’s interested in how communities can infl uence public health in areas such as social relationships, health and recreation facilities, and economic climate.

Th e focus in early health research was on the individual, and in some cases it was believed that people’s unhealthiness was their own fault. Th is isn’t necessarily true, says Wharf Higgins. “Despite their good inten-tions, people are sometimes pre-vented from living healthy lifestyles because of barriers beyond their control. Th ey don’t always have the resources they need.”

Communities are not neces-sarily defi ned by geography. One study by Wharf Higgins examined the promotion of “heart health” among low-income single mothers by concentrating on prevention instead of the usual focus on the heart disease itself.

“Single mothers are one of the groups at the greatest risk for heart disease,” she explains, “because many have low incomes and struggle to eat properly and exercise, as well as feeding their kids.”

Th e study showed that although low-income single mothers were well aware of what they should be doing to stay healthy—such as quit smoking, eat healthy foods and ex-ercise—those lifestyle changes could not be a priority for them because they were too busy trying to make ends meet.

“Th e mothers recommended that the whole social support system be revamped for single mothers,” says Wharf Higgins. “Th ey felt that they didn’t have enough money to live on, and that the rules of the system often penalized them for trying to get ahead.”

Wharf Higgins became interest-ed in health promotion in between completing a master’s degree at UVic and starting a PhD at UBC. “I worked for the Heart and Stroke Foundation as a health education co-ordinator, and that’s really where I saw the limitations of an educa-tion-only approach. Education is important, of course, but does it really reach the people most at risk? They might not be interested in information because they’re dealing with other priorities.”

Wharf Higgins wants to create healthy environments for everybody, regardless of age or stage of life, and a number of her current projects refl ect this.

She’s collaborating with Drs. Vivi-ene Temple and Patti-Jean Naylor, both from UVic’s physical education department, who are leading a project called Healthy Opportunities for Preschoolers. Th e project is training daycare workers to integrate physical activity and basic physical move-ments into preschoolers’ days.

With the Canadian Council on Learning Health and Knowledge Centre, she’s exploring how to support the learning and health of adolescents when they aren’t in school. She’s also working with the Action Schools B.C. Project, which is examining how teachers can integrate physical activity into the school day.

At the other end of the age spectrum, she’s working with Silver Th reads in Sidney to off er a program called “A Taste of Healthy Living.” Th e program helps seniors be more active, eat healthy foods, feel con-nected to their community, and contribute to their own health or disease management.

Th e Sidney program is an off -shoot of an earlier research project on type-2 diabetes prevention, led by Wharf Higgins. The project

explored how recreational oppor-tunities can engage people at risk for the disease and give them access to educational and community resources for healthier living. Th e program included such initiatives as a walking program with tribal schools on the Saanich Peninsula, and a pedometer lending program at the Sidney Library.

Ultimately, Wharf Higgins’s work is about giving people control from a community perspective.

“In a lot of cases, what’s out of control is things like the price of healthy food. Lately, there’s a move-ment in the schools to put healthy options in vending machines or caf-eterias that are cheaper than the less healthy options. People now have the ability to exercise some control, and that’s what gives them a sense of self-confi dence and self-worth.”

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ral, isolated and coastal communities. Previous experience has shown that doctors tend to stay and practise in the areas where they are trained.

“Th e IMP is off to a fi ne start and we’re delighted with our progress so far,” says Dr. Oscar Casiro, associate dean of the program and head of the division of medical sciences at UVic. “Our students are doing extremely well, we’re developing a strong rapport with UVic and the Vancouver Island medical community, and our much-touted video-conferencing technology is proving up to the task of linking the distributed sites.”

UVic’s Medical Sciences Building and the sophisticated audiovisual

equipment have been put to the test since the second cohort of 24 students arrived last month to begin their stud-ies. Among the new class, 11 are UVic alumni and nine are originally from Vancouver Island.

“UVic is becoming a gateway to medical education on Vancouver Island,” says Jamie Cassels, UVic’s vice-president academic and prov-ost. He encourages the new students to follow in the footsteps of the class of 2008, who have become “excel-lent ambassadors” for the university by participating in several commu-nity health initiatives. “Th is refl ects UVic’s vision of having our students connected to the real world, contrib-

uting to the betterment of society,” he says.

In June, the second-year students will be involved in intensive, real medical-world training when they begin four-week rotations with family practice physicians in rural areas of Vancouver Island. Some of these physicians, such as Dr. Granger Avery of Port McNeill, use a helicopter to reach their patients in isolated communities.

Meanwhile, many of the students share Vegsund’s enthusiasm for their current hands-on hospital experi-ences. Patrizia Moccia is still ecstatic from her fi rst experience in obstetrics, watching a baby boy being born: “It was totally amazing—our physician

tutor talked us through what was happening. Afterwards, the new father shook all our hands.”

Kevin Tyler chose to have his hospital practice at the Victoria Hospice palliative care unit at the Royal Jubilee because he wanted to learn what is involved in caring for the whole family. As his hospice ses-sions wrapped up and he moved on to another unit, he says: “I have a whole new respect for caregivers and everything they do.”

Dr. Fraser Black is one of 500 phy-sicians on Vancouver Island who have agreed to teach IMP students and be appointed to the program’s growing clinical faculty. He mentored Tyler

during his work at the 17-bed Victoria Hospice in-patient unit.

“I’m very happy to have the IMP students here,” he says. “Th ey bring so much enthusiasm and energy. Palliative care was not a big part of our training when I went to medical school, but it’s an important part of medicine, so this is a great opportu-nity for these students and for us.”

Th e last word belongs to Walter Sly, a patient at the Victoria Hospice, who cheerfully cracked jokes while posing for photos for this article with the doctor, Tyler and Rose, his wife of 51 years. “I guess we can still teach these young ‘uns a thing or two,” he quipped.

IMP students join hospital front lines continued from p.1

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Dr. Taiaiake Alfred, a faculty mem-ber in UVic’s indigenous governance program, received a 2006 National Aboriginal Achievement Award during a ceremony in Vancouver on Jan. 27.

Th e gala evening was broadcast na-tion-wide the following evening on the Global and Aboriginal Peoples Televi-sion networks. Alfred, who is also the Canada Research Chair in Studies of Indigenous Peoples, was named in the education category, one of the award program’s 14 categories.

Alfred is a graduate of Concordia University in Montreal and Cornell University in New York and served as an infantryman with the U.S.

Marines prior to embarking on his academic career. A prolifi c author of hundreds of articles and three books on indigenous governance, he remains active in indigenous com-munities as an adviser and strategist to many First Nations governments and community organizations.

A reviewer described his most recent book, Wasase: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom, as rejecting “aboriginalism as a legalistic, integrating ideology that destroys individuals and communities, and ar-gues instead for an anarcho-indigenist perspective that is non-capitalist, non-statist, pro-feminist, and based on a sustainable relation to nature.”

Indigenous studies prof wins national award

Alfred

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Along with all-night study sessions and beating the deadline on a term paper, nothing is more inevitable at the end of a course than the student evaluation. Administered across disciplines at both the undergraduate and graduate level, these evaluations provide instructors and their admin-istrators with valuable feedback.

Currently, there is a wide range of assessment tools in place throughout the university, but the offi ce of the vice-president academic and provost is implementing a new survey instru-ment that senate has asked to be used across all academic programs at UVic.

The course experience survey

(CES) was developed over four years by the learning and teaching centre at the request of senate and in response to the UVic strategic plan. Extensive research and consultation over the past several years—includ-ing a literature review of course evaluation theory and practice, on-campus interviews, focus groups and surveys—were part of the CES development.

“We chose to call the tool a ‘course experience survey’ because, while it will be used to assess teach-ing eff ectiveness, the survey can only capture students’ perceptions of their experience in the course,” says Dr. Jim Anglin, associate vice-president

academic. “Th e name was also cho-sen in response to the suggestions of those involved in the instructor and student focus groups.”

An implementation task group with broad representation has been formed and will plan and oversee the process of implementing the new survey instrument. Th is group will address such issues as survey administration and analysis, data access, method of delivery and avail-ability of results.

Th e CES implementation task group will continue to meet over the coming months and will provide updates as planning for implementa-tion proceeds.

University introduces new course evaluation survey

The Ring February 2006 Page 7

Events free unless otherwise indicated. For a complete list of events, see www.uvic.ca/eventsCalendarhighlights

VikesFeb 3 Basketball vs. Thompson Rivers U. Wolfpack 6:15 PM and 8:00 PM

Feb 4 Basketball vs. Thompson Rivers U. Wolfpack 6:15 PM and 8:00 PM

Feb 11 Basketball vs. Simon Fraser U. Clan 6:15 PM and 8:00 PM

Feb 11 Men’s Rugby vs. Ravens 2:45 PM

Feb 18 Men’s Rugby vs. Meralomas 2:45 PM

Feb 25 Men’s Rugby vs. Velox 2:45 PM

RecPlusDid you know that the McKinnon Pool is open for drop-in swimming throughout the day? Check out the website for times: www.athrec.uvic.ca

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Thursday, February 2 Medieval Studies Lecture 10 a.m. Upward Mobility in Medieval Ger-man Literature: Th e Fortunes of a Faithful Liar. Dr. Vicki Ziegler, Pennsylvania State Univ. Clearihue A206. 721-6271

Grad Year Connection Workshop 6:30 p.m. Working Overseas. Learn about the experiences of students and alumni who have worked or volunteered overseas. For more in-formation visit gradyearorientation.uvic.ca/workshops.html. Hickman 110. 472-4678

Orion Lecture 7:30 p.m. Th e Mind’s Eye: Seeing, Sight and Gothic Art. Dr. Jean Givens, Univ. of California. Cornett A129 721-7942

Friday, February 3Anthropology Lecture 12:30 p.m. Back to the Land: Th e Signifi cance of Permaculture in Creating Sustainable Communities. Claire Sieber, UVic grad student. Business & Economics 363. 721-7047

Music 12:30 p.m. Fridaymusic. School of music students in a program for various instruments. MacLaurin B125. 721-7904

Symposium Against Poverty 7 p.m. Disposable Women: Connect-ing the Dots from Canada to Mexico. A panel discussing the connections between missing women in Mexican sweatshops and missing indigenous women in Canada. SUB, Vertigo. 370-9112.

Orion Lecture 7 p.m. Notes on Puppetry in an Atmosphere of Dread. Peter Balkwill and Judd Palmer, co-founders of Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Phoenix Th eatre. 721-7992

Saturday, February 4 19th Annual Medieval Workshop 9 a.m. Nature Tamed and Wild. Speak-ers: Dr. Vickie Ziegler, Pennsylvania State Univ; Dr. Jean Givens, Univ. of Connecticut; and Drs. Catherine Harding, Iain Higgins and Helene Cazes, UVic. MacLaurin A144. Tickets $49.22. 721-8827

Monday, February 6Distinguished Professors Lecture 7:30 p.m. Science Literacy: A Guide for Parents, Grandparents and Edu-cators. Dr. Larry Yore, UVic. Fraser 159. 721-7013

Tuesday, February 7 Linguistics Lecture 6:30 p.m. Academic Reading and Writing: An Overview. Joel Murray, Kwantlen Univ. College. Clearihue A206. 472-4665

Wednesday, February 8UVic Career Fair 2006 10 a.m. (and Feb. 9) Graduate and continu-ing education info fair hosted by UVic career services and AIESEC. SUB Michele Pujol. 721-8992

Music 12:30 p.m. Lieder at Lunch. Cuckoo songs. Sharon and Harald Krebs. MacLaurin B037. 721-7904

Centre for Studies in Religion and Society Lecture 4:15 p.m. Recognition and Marginalization of Religion in the Public Sphere. Solange Lefebvre, Univ. de Montréal. Hickman 110. 721-6325

Thursday, February 9Human Rights Lecture 7 p.m. Lived Rights. Dr. Sima Simar, former Deputy Prime Minister of Afghani-stan, chair, Independent Afghan Human Rights Commission. Fraser 159. 721-7636

Friday, February 10 Music 12:30 p.m. Fridaymusic. School of music guitar students. MacLaurin B125. 721-7904

Tuesday, February 14Cente on Aging & VIHA Work-shop 8:30 a.m. You Be the Judge: What Constitutes Negligence in Facil-ity Care? Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health Auditorium. RSVP by Feb. 7 to Lindsay Cassie at lcassie@uvic.ca or 721-6369

CEOR Lecture 3:30 p.m. Beyond the Sea: the Bamfi eld Marine Sciences Centre—Opportunities and Suc-cesses. Dr. Dennis Jelinski, director, Bamfi eld Marine Sciences Centre. Cornett B112. 721-8848

Sessions in Spirituality 4 p.m. Th e Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Exploring the Inner Journey. A pen-etrating look at this well-loved story. Christopher Page, St. Philip’s Anglican Church. Interfaith Chapel. 721-8338

Wednesday, February 15 Centre for Studies in Religion & Society Lecture 4:15 p.m. A Diff erent Kind of Hunger: Modern Irish Catholi-cism, Literary Anorexia and Women’s Salvation. Christine St. Peter, UVic. Hickman 110. 721-6325

Lansdowne Lecture 7:30 p.m. Th e First English Detectives: Policing London in the 18th Century. John Beattie, Univ. of Toronto. Hick-man 110. 721-7390

Thursday, February 16 Education Learning Commons Lecture 12:30 p.m. Distributed Learning in B.C., the Current Pic-ture and Emerging Trends. Tanya Twynstra, B.C. Ministry of Educa-tion. MacLaurin D21. 472-4295

Friday, February 17 Anthropology Lecture 12 :30 p.m. Burial Cairns and the Mortu-ary Landscape of Rocky Point. A. Mathews, UVic grad student. Busi-ness & Economics 363. 721-7047

Music 12:30 p.m. Fridaymusic. School of music string students. MacLaurin B125. 721-7904

Monday, February 20Annual Biology Graduate Student Symposium 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (contin-ues Feb. 21). Biology graduate stu-dent research goes on display with 15-minute presentations and poster sessions. Hickman 105/110/120. 721-8099

Thursday, February 23 Centre on Aging Community Forum 2006 12 p.m. Enhancing Capacity in Later Life. A one-day forum open to health profession-als, seniors, faculty, staff , students and the public. Strong C103. Ticket prices vary. 721-6369

Continuing Studies Dine With a Scientist Series 5:30 p.m. Evolu-tion, Behaviour and Conservation of the Lemurs of Madagascar. Dr. Lisa Gould, UVic. Ticket price varies. Dunsmuir Lodge. 721-8827

Sunday, February 26Centre for Studies in Religion & Society Lecture 2 p.m. Inclusion and Exclusion: Muslim Women at the Intersection of Religion, Law and the Family. Vrinda Narain, McGill Univ. Registration required. 472-4747

Monday, February 27Lansdowne Lecture 7:30 p.m. Th e Gift in the Animal: Hunting, Human-Animal Relations and Ex-change Th eory in Anthropology. Dr. Paul Nadasdy, Univ. of Wisconsin. Strong C118. 721-7354

Wednesday, March 1UVic Retirees Lecture 7:30 p.m. Grandmothers Raising Grandchil-dren: Th e Underground Child Wel-fare System. Drs. Brian Wharf and Marilyn Callahan, UVic. Hickman 105. 472-4463

At the Gallerieswww.maltwood.uvic.ca

721-6562

Camosun College Visual Arts Faculty Exhibit (until Feb. 21). A group exhibition featuring the work of current visual arts faculty and technical staff at Camosun. Maltwood Art Museum & Gallery.

At the Theatreswww.phoenixtheatres.ca or

721-8000

Old Trout Puppet Workshop (until Feb. 4) A new produc-tion by the theatre company known for its wildly inven-tive puppet theatre for adult audiences.

Top Girls (Feb. 9–18) Climb-ing the corporate ladder and the price of success are at the heart of this play by one of Britain’s greatest living playwrights.

Winter 2005–06 Ring ScheduleCalendar items should be sent by 4 p.m. on the copy deadline date shown below to UVic Communications (Sedgewick C149, fax 721-8955, e-mail ucom@uvic.ca) or entered into the online calendar (www.uvic.ca/events). For more information call 721-7636.

Publication Date Copy Deadline

Thursday, March 2 ........................................................................................ Wednesday, Feb. 22

Thursday, April 6 ........................................................................................... Wednesday, March 29

Page 8 The Ring February 2006

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Grey power on campusIn March, discover what it takes to be happy and healthy in your later years without enrolling in a course or leaving the campus. As part of Embrace Aging Month, a citywide festival of events celebrating seniors and the agencies that support them, UVic’s centre on aging is hosting lectures, presentations and an art exhibit. Events include an art exhibit by Vermont fabric artist Deidre Scherer at the Maltwood Gallery and a lecture by Scherer on the challenges of aging and dying. Dr. Robert Dalton (education) is giving a lecture entitled “Framing the Past: Senior Stories Illustrated by Youthful Artists.” As well, the UVic Retirees Association and the centre on aging are presenting a series of fi ve lectures starting March 1. “Masterminds: A Lecture Series by UVic Retirees” will be held every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Hickman Building, room 105. Plan to arrive early, because seating will be limited. For more information on Embrace Aging Month and the events mentioned above visit www.coag.uvic.ca/events.htm or embraceaging.org.

Co-op programs once again get national affi rmationIn December 2005, the accreditation council of the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE) awarded UVic a six-year re-accreditation of its law, recreation and health education, kinesiology, and biology co-op programs. CAFCE launched the accreditation process in 1979 as a means of establishing national standards for co-op education. The CAFCE criteria include high-quality program delivery, proven student and employer support systems, and excellent mechanisms for student preparation and evaluation. Only 22 of more than 80 Canadian institutions hold CAFCE accreditation for their co-op programs; nine of UVic’s 14 co-op programs are currently accredited by CAFCE.

Nominate a student for Blue and GoldTime is running out to nominate an outstanding student for a 2006 University of Victoria Blue and Gold Award. Nominations close March 9 for the awards, which recognize undergraduate and graduate students who make signifi cant contributions to the quality of life on campus and in the community. These students might demonstrate leadership in a volunteer role with community groups, through participating in or coaching athletics or being involved with arts groups or organizations. Two levels of Blue and Gold Awards will be presented this year—three awards worth $2,500 each and fi ve awards worth $1,000 each. Details are included in nomination packages available through the student awards and fi nancial aid offi ce in the University Centre or online at registrar.uvic.ca/safa. All nominations and supporting documentation should be mailed by March 9 to the Blue and Gold Awards program, c/o Student Awards and Financial Aid, P.O. Box 3025, STN CSC, Victoria, B.C. V8W 3P2.

Three events in one at Career Fair Are you a student or graduate contemplating your career options? Check out Career Fair 2006, a two-day recruitment event in the Michele Pujol room of the Student Union Building, Feb. 8-9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Representatives of more than 60 organizations will be on campus to help students explore a range of career options. This year, two new events are being added: a Graduate and Continuing Education Info Fair on Feb. 8, and a Community Services Info Fair on Feb. 9. “This year, we’re off ering more information and networking opportunities for students and alumni than ever before,” says Jennifer Margison, manager of career services. For more information, visit www.uviccareerfair.com.

Alumni Association seeks award nominationsThe UVic Alumni Association invites nominations for its prestigious Excellence in Teaching Awards and Distinguished Alumni Awards. Nominations will be accepted until Feb. 27 for the teaching awards and until March 31 for the alumni awards. The Alumni Awards for Excellence in Teaching are in two categories. The Harry Hickman Award is for regular faculty members. The Gilian Sherwin Award is for sessional instructors. Both awards include a $2,000 prize and photographs of the recipients are permanently displayed in the McPherson Library. The award program was the fi rst of its kind on campus when it was introduced in 1989. Distinguished Alumni Awards recognize outstanding achievement by graduates of the university in categories that include lifetime achievement and achievement under the age of 40. Nomination forms for both awards are available online at the alumni website (alumni.uvic.ca).

by Maria Lironi

Aspiring video game creators, record-ing engineers and foley artists take note—UVic is the only university in Western Canada, and the second in Canada, to blend training in music and computer science into one degree-granting program.

“Today, pretty much the whole process of recording, distributing and producing music is done through computers,” explains Dr. George Tzanetakis (computer science) who teaches music information retrieval, the practice of analysing large collec-tions of music in digital format.

Computers are used to create digital audio (recorded and computer-generated), which is used for musical activities such as producing music recordings, music for fi lm and video games, and delivering music in the form of CDs, DVDs, Internet broad-casts and MP3 fi les for download.

In addition, many live music per-formances involve computer technol-ogy, ranging from sound synthesizers and samplers to three-dimensional controllers for manipulating sound.

Th e marriage between the two dis-ciplines isn’t as odd as it seems. Many computer science students already have an interest in music—many play instruments and some are DJs in clubs. Th is program is a way of attracting those who might be more intimidated by traditional computer science courses.

During the four years of study, students take the essential courses for both a music and computer sci-ence degree, omitting private lessons in voice or an instrument. Courses include: music, science, and comput-ers; recording techniques; acoustics of music; a computer music seminar; audio signal processing; and music

information retrieval. Th e students learn from experienced

faculty, including the program’s newest hire, audio specialist and recording engineer Kirk McNally, who provides technical support for the program and teaches two courses in digital audio. McNally has worked with major in-ternational artists—including R.E.M., Bryan Adams and Matthew Good—as a recording engineer.

Although the program has only been running since September 2004, it has a long history. “Back in the 1990s, I worked with the then-dean of fi ne arts to create a lab for extended media, and it had a presence on the web,” recalls instructor Dr. Andrew Schloss (music). “Students asked if they could study it even though we didn’t have a program then. Th is is the culmination of 15 years of work.”

Both instructors are excited about the “obvious need” for this program and the student enthusiasm. A good example of the latter is 23-year-old Ben Rancourt, who decided at the last minute to forgo his UVic degree in computer science to enter the combined program.

“I was just about to graduate,” recalls Rancourt, who plays the guitar and mandolin. “But then this program

came up and I thought it was worth a couple of extra years to see what hap-pens. Music has always been a main passion, while computer science has been a large interest too. What I’m en-joying the most right now is studying sound recording and computer music. I’m learning very practical stuff .

“It’ll be an extra two years until I get my fi rst bachelor degree,” he adds. “But if you have a very strong interest in technology and music, this is defi nitely worth taking.”

While Rancourt is just starting his career in the fi eld, Ajay Kapur is already winning awards.

Kapur is an interdisciplinary doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering, music, com-puter science and psychology. His multimedia presentation, “Digitizing Traditional North Indian Perform-ance,” won two awards in 2004—the Distinguished Best Paper Award from the Journal of New Music Research, and the Th elma Adamson Prize for the best student paper from the northwest chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology.

Kapur took traditional Indian instruments and embedded comput-ers inside them to capture gestures while he’s performing. He also wrote a graphic program that projects diff er-ent colours onto a screen, depending where the drum is hit. And he did “some crazy experiments” with one drum at McGill University and anoth-er at Princeton and then performed a concert over the Internet.

In addition to the joint degree in computer science and music, there’s a computer music option in electrical engineering. A total of 43 students are already involved in the two pro-grams. For more information visit finearts.uvic.ca/music/ and www.mistic.ece.uvic.ca/.

Student Ben Rancourt (pictured here in a recording studio, with his mandolin) is taking a combined major in music and computer science.

When music and technology mergeCombined major in music and computer science draws rave reviews from students and instructors

“If you have a very strong

interest in technology and music,

this is defi nitely

worth taking.”

UVIC PH

OTO

SERVICES